The birth of childhood: A brief history of the European child

Unravel the intricate tapestry of childhood's evolution in Europe. From the Middle Ages to the present day, the perception and role of children have undergone significant transformations. Embark on a journey through time, exploring the fascinating birth of childhood.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

In his book Emile, or On Education (1762), Rousseau appealed to parents to look after their offspring

• At a time when children were regularly entrusted to others during adolescence or left in shelters, Rousseau’s demands seemed revolutionary
• They paved the way for the breakthrough discovery that indeed, a child is also a human being

Ancient cruelty

Double standards in people’s approach to children were not unusual in the past. In ancient Greece, no one condemned parents for leaving a baby by the road or in the garbage.

• After raising the orphan, the ‘Good Samaritan’ could sell the child at a slave market, recovering the money invested in their maintenance.

Emerging morality

Martha Appleton, a 13-year-old girl from Wigan, Lancashire, was fired after she fainted on the job due to unhealthy, inhumane working conditions

• Friedrich Fröbel visited many cities and gave lectures on returning children to their childhoods, encouraging adults to provide children with care and free education
• The Prussian government banned the employment of minors
• A similar ban came into force in France two years later
• In Britain, Prime Minister Robert Peel fought the parliament before peers agreed to adopt the Factory Act 1844

Discovering Childhood

In wealthier homes, special emphasis was placed on education and upbringing, so that the descendant “would desire to become an exemplary citizen, who would able to govern as well as obey orders in accordance with the laws of justice.”

• Plato believed that children should be carefully looked after, and parents have the duty to care for their physical and mental development.
• Plutarch praised the Roman senator Cato the Elder for helping his wife bathe their son, and not avoiding changing the baby.
• When the offspring grew up, the senator spent a lot of time with the boy, studied literary works with him, and taught him history, and history, horse riding, etc.

In defence of the child

In 1874, social activist Etty Wheeler stood in defence of a New York girl beaten by her guardians (her biological parents were dead).

• She inspired animal rights activists to establish American Humane, an NGO fighting for the protection of every harmed creature, including children.
• Towards the end of the 19th century, ‘good mothers’ began to look after their own babies, and the custom of entrusting care of offspring to strangers fell into oblivion.

Departure from violence

During the Middle Ages, a child became a young man at the age of eight or nine

• According to canon law of the Catholic Church, the bride had to be at least 12 years old and the groom, 14
• To avoid conflicts with the church, the contract between families was called an ‘engagement for the future’ (in Latin: sponsalia de futuro)
• While the families decided their fate, the children subject to the transaction had nothing to say
• Interest in children as independent beings was revived in Europe when antiquity was discovered
• Thanks to the writings of ancient philosophers, the fashion to care for education and educating children returned

Shelter and factory

In many villages and towns, newborn babies were kept for twelve to fifteen days until there were enough of them to transport to the shelter.

• Orphans had to earn a living to receive shelter and food, and soon, their peers from poor families met the same fate.

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